Bitcoin Holding above $13000, Ripple Eases after Year-End Rally

Ripple saw a sharp rise toward the end of yesterday's trading, which allowed it to finish the day at an intraday high of $2.39. Ripple last traded slightly off its highs around 47 cents, according to CoinMarketCap.

Ripple's gains in 2017 outstripped the gains of Ethereum and bitcoin, which rose by roughly 9,000% and 1,400%, respectively.

Like much of the recent gains in digital currencies, there was no apparent fundamental reason for ripple's surge other than positive momentum. "It cruised right past Litecoin in terms of market value, and it could continue to rise in value and popularity", reports Futurism, a publication comprised of writers and editors who invest in some cryptocurrency markets.

Ripple rose in value by more than 19,600% over the course of 2017. It also helped that the token has been added to the Bloomberg Terminal.

Elsewhere in cryptocurrency trading, was trading at $1.89 on the Poloniex exchange after touching a record high of $2.39 on Saturday.

Like most cryptocurrencies, the surge in Ripple's XRP is driven by retail investors from Asia. Interestingly enough, despite increasing crypto regulations in South Korea, last week's global trading volume of XRP within 24 hours came primarily from South Korea based exchanges. Without ownership of private keys, investors may only hold the XRP using Ledger Nano S, as well as exchange wallets.

The surging investor interest from South Korea was largely responsible for Ripple's record-breaking run in the final days of previous year.

Still, there is a bright future for Ripple. A network that launched in 2012, Ripple originated in concept as early as 2004 - before Bitcoin even existed.

Yet perhaps what's even more notable is that along side with the market momentum, bitcoin's dominance has dropped to an all-time-low, now accounting for 35.6 percent of the entire marketplace, according to CoinMarketCap.

"Ripple's success is a success for all cryptocurrencies and the future of crypto".

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